Storage system and power consumption reduction method for the same

• US 20090193272A1
• Filed: 03/12/2008
• Published: 07/30/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/24/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Matsuzawa, Keiichi, Nakano, Takahiro
• Granted Patent: US 8,095,810 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/320
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3221 of disk drive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3268 Power saving in hard disk drive
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3287 by switching off individual functional units in the computer system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2206/1012 Load balancing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0625 Power saving in storage systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0635 by changing the path, e.g. traffic rerouting, path reconfiguration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/067 Distributed or networked storage systems, e.g. storage area networks [SAN], network attached storage [NAS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 10/00 Energy efficient computing, e.g. low power processors, power management or thermal management

Abstract

In a storage system that includes two or more file servers each including an arbitrary number of operating virtual file servers, a management server: holds a load information table regarding a load on each virtual file server for each time period and redundancy information table for the storage system; judges, with reference to the load information table and redundancy information table, whether or not the loads on the virtual file servers can be handled by a smaller number of file servers than the number of currently-operating file servers; selects, if the judgment result is positive, a power-off target file server and makes another file server fail over a virtual file server in the power-off target file server; and turns off the power-off target file server.

Claims

1. A storage system, comprising:

at least one storage apparatus that includes a first power control mechanism;

at least one computer that includes a controller for storing a file in the storage apparatus, a second power control mechanism and a virtual file server that issues start, stop and failover commands; and

a power management computer that controls the first power control mechanism and the second power control mechanism,

wherein the power management computer includes a first shift controller that;

refers to a load on the computer;

stops the virtual file server or performs failover for the virtual file server when the load is low; and

shifts the states of the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer to a power-off state or a low power consumption state.

2. The storage system according to claim 1, wherein the power management computer includes a second shift controller that:

refers to the load on the computer;

turns on the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer or cancels their low power consumption state, when the load will increase in a certain time period; and

starts the virtual file server or performs failover for the virtual file server.

3. The storage system according to claim 2, wherein:

the power management computer includes a memory;

the memory stores;

a virtual file server load information table in which time periods and loads regarding the virtual file server are listed; and

a redundancy information table in which a minimum value and a maximum value for each resource included in the storage system can be specified; and

the first shift controller and the second shift controller refer to the virtual file server load information table and the redundancy information table and respectively perform shift control.

4. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the first shift controller judges whether or not the load on the virtual file server can be handled by a smaller number of computers than the number of currently-operating computers, and if the judgment result is positive, the first shift controller stops the virtual file server or performs failover for the virtual file server, and shifts the states of the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer to the power-off state or the low power consumption state.

5. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the second shift controller judges whether or not the load on the virtual file server will be able to be handled by all the currently-operating computers after a certain time period, and if the judgment result is negative, the second shift controller turns on the power for the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer or cancels their low power consumption state, and starts the virtual file server or performs failover for the virtual file server.

6. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes an information table management unit; and

the virtual file server communicates with the information table management unit and makes a change in the virtual file server load information table.

7. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes an information table management unit;

the computer monitors a resource usage status for the virtual file server for each time period, communicates with the information table management unit and makes a change in the virtual file server load information table.

8. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes an information table management unit; and

the computer collects the load in each time period based on setting information for each virtual file server, communicates the information table management unit and changes the virtual file server load information table.

9. The storage system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a management computer that can be connected via the network, wherein;

the management computer includes an information table management unit; and

when the editing of display content based on content displayed on the management computer is commanded, the management computer makes a change in the virtual file server load information table by communicating with the information table management unit and transmitting the commanded edit content to the power management computer.

10. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes information table management unit; and

the virtual file server makes a change in the redundancy information table by communicating with the information table management unit.

11. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes an information table management unit; and

the computer monitors a resource usage status for the virtual file server in each time period, communicates with the information table management unit and makes a change in the redundancy information table.

12. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein:

the power management computer includes an information table management unit; and

the computer collects a resource usage status in each time period based on setting information for each virtual file server, communicates with the information table management unit and makes a change in the redundancy information table.

13. The storage system according to claim 3, further comprising:

a management computer that can be connected via the network;

the power management computer includes an information table management unit; and

when the editing of display content based on content displayed on the management computer is commanded, the management computer makes a change in the redundancy information table by communicating with the information table management unit and transmitting the commanded edit content to the power management computer.

14. The storage system according to claim 2, further comprising:

a storage apparatus management computer that issues a power-on or power-off command for the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus, wherein

when the power-on or power-off command is issued from the storage apparatus management computer, the power management computer starts or stops a computer and a virtual file server that uses a power-on/power-off target storage apparatus.

15. The storage system according to claim 4, wherein:

the first shift controller refers to the virtual file server load information table, calculates the total of a load on each virtual file server during the shift, and judges whether or not the calculated total load can be handled by a smaller number of computers than the total number of the currently-operating computers.

16. The storage system according to claim 4, wherein:

each resource in the redundancy information table includes the number of network ports in the computer;

if it is determined as a result of the judgment that the load can be handled, the first shift controller calculates the total number of network ports in the computers and shifts the state of the second power control mechanism in the computer to a power-off or low power consumption state based on comparison between the calculated number of network ports and the minimum number of network ports in the computers which is stored in the redundancy information table.

17. A power consumption reduction method for a storage system that includes:

at least one storage apparatus including a first power control mechanism;

at least one computer including a controller for storing a file in the storage apparatus, a second power control mechanism and a virtual file server for issuing start, stop and failover commands; and

a power management computer that controls the first power management mechanism and the second power management mechanism, the method comprising steps performed by the power management computer, the steps being;

referring to a load on the computer; and

stopping the virtual file server or performing failover for the virtual file server when the load is low, and shifting the states of the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer to a power-off state or a low power consumption state.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein

the power management computer refers to the load on the computer, and if the load will increase in a certain time period, the power management computer turns on the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus and the second power control mechanism in the computer or cancels their low power consumption state, and starts the virtual file server or performs failover for the virtual file server.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein:

the storage system includes a storage apparatus management computer that issues a power-on or power-off command for the first power control mechanism in the storage apparatus, and

if the storage apparatus management computer issues a power-on or power-off command, the power management computer starts or stops a computer and a virtual file server that uses a power-on/power-off target storage apparatus.